Dr. Phil’s Top Five Guests

“Michelle Knight is definitely one of those guests over the 12 seasons of the show who has had a profound effect on me. As you may remember, Michelle was the first of Ariel Castro’s kidnap victims, and was held captive for 11 years. As she was telling me the story of her horrific ordeal, I could see that her pain was still fresh, and, as I got to know this young woman, I was not surprised she survived. Michelle is a very special person who has a tremendous heart and spirit. I said it when I first met her and I will continue to say it. I will never complain about anything. Ever. Again.”

End the Silence on Domestic Violence (Original Air Date – 9/13/10)

“We started our ninth season with the End the Silence on Domestic Violence campaign. We had a guest on that show named Audrey, whose husband, a former NYPD homicide detective, beat her with a hammer, doused her with gasoline and then lit her on fire. She was burned over most of her body but, while her husband’s cowardly act forever changed Audrey’s outward appearance, he couldn’t touch her relentless will to live and survive. She did not come on the show looking for pity, but instead to help the countless women who are put into life and death situations because of domestic violence.”

The Girl in the Closet (Original Air Date – 2/6/12)

“Lauren was locked in a pitch-black closet by her mother and stepfather when she was a toddler. This dungeon is what she would call ‘home’ for the next six years. At 18 years old, she felt ready to tell her story, and the audience was riveted. She endured a nightmare that most of us could not even fathom. I was truly humbled by this brave young woman.”

Family Matters: An Intervention (Original Air Date – 11/5/03)

“I first met Brandon in the fall 2003. We did a live drug intervention with him, which had not ever been done on television. Brandon abruptly ended the intervention by storming off the stage. We eventually got him to go to rehab, but it didn’t stick. In 2006, he failed a drug test while on probation and was sent to jail. That was Brandon’s turning point. He’s been sober and committed to paying it forward ever since.”

My Mother-in-Law Believes I’m a Killer (Original Air Date – 11/20/13)

“You’d think that after 12 seasons, nothing would surprise me, but I did a show last fall that really did. It centered around a woman, her son and his wife. They were relentless in how they bickered with each other. The accusations by the woman toward her daughter-in-law were outrageous. One of the most outrageous accusations was that her daughter-in-law had five aliases, which was proven false by a private investigator that I hired. She also accused her daughter-in-law of being involved in the death of another son. Her anger and mistrust toward her son and daughter-in-law are so great that she has yet to meet the couple’s children. How could you intentionally make the choice not to see your grandchildren? That surprised and shocked me.”